The Lehendakari advocates jointly defending Atlantic interests so as not to remain “out of focus”.

• The Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria propose to promote the Atlantic Axis by creating an Atlantic Macroregion for this purpose
• A working and meeting forum that articulates, brings together and gives visibility to the Atlantic region and in which the different levels of government participate
• The presidents of the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria have met to exchange ideas and initiatives on the common challenges facing the Atlantic territories
• The common agenda includes, among the most important issues, the railway network, the hydrogen corridor, the response to climate change and the commitment to Smart Specialisation

The presidents of the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria, Iñigo Urkullu, Alfonso Rueda, Adrián Barbón and Miguel Ángel Revilla, respectively, met this morning to exchange ideas and initiatives on the common challenges facing the Atlantic territories.

The meeting, convened by Lehendakari Urkullu as President of the Atlantic Act Commission, addressed issues related to interconnections and the triple transition: green, digital and socio-demographic. The common agenda includes, among the most important issues, the railway network, the hydrogen corridor, the response to climate change and the commitment to Smart Specialisation. “Sharing this common agenda encourages us to make a qualitative leap,” the Lehendakari pointed out.

In a context in which the European axis of influence is shifting eastwards, at today's meeting, it was proposed to promote the Atlantic Axis by creating an Atlantic Macroregion, from which a joint strategic vision could be outlined to act in defence of our interests and not to be “out of focus”. “We are committed to Europe and we do not want to lose our capacity for influence,” said Urkullu.

Thus, the creation of a working and meeting forum has been proposed to articulate, unite and give visibility to the Atlantic region, with the participation of the different levels of government on an equal footing: European Union, Member States, Communities and Regions. According to Urkullu, the aim is that, during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the Union, in the second half of this year, the European Council will mandate the Commission to develop a Macro-regional Strategy for the Atlantic.

The need to work as an “Atlantic lobby” to mobilise institutions and socio-economic actors was also agreed. “We are going to request that the Presidency of the Atlantic Arc Commission participate in the Border Cooperation Committee provided for in the Declaration of the Franco-Spanish Summit in January. We intend to institutionalise this annual forum by extending it to the Presidents of all the Atlantic Autonomous Communities,” he said.

“The defence of the Atlantic Axis is not the exclusive responsibility of the institutions. This must be a collective commitment that integrates the impulse and participation of all the socio-economic actors in our Communities. After all, the present and future well-being of our societies is at stake,” said the Lehendakari.

RAILWAY NETWORK

The Atlantic rail corridor has accumulated a long list of delays on the part of the Spanish and French governments, and even longer delays are looming. The year 2030 is the date set by the European Commission for the completion of the Corridor's basic network, without which the opportunity to connect efficiently with the network of corridors running through the whole of the European Union will be lost.

The scenario the French Government is working with at the moment points out that the high-speed connection between Bordeaux and Dax will not arrive before 2042. What is more, there is no mention of when it will reach Irun. This approach would mean a very serious breach of the obligations acquired by the French State with regard to the European Atlantic Corridor.

There are also delays and non-compliance on the part of the Spanish government. For example, the drafting of the construction project for the Vitoria-Gasteiz-Burgos section –the basic network– has just been awarded, but it will not enter into service until the next decade.

The European Commission and the Spanish government are therefore called upon to make every effort to ensure that the 2030 deadline becomes a reality, including in France.

HYDROGEN CORRIDOR

In relation to the hydrogen corridor, it is of concern that the forecast map of interconnections of the so-called “European hydrogen backbone” does not include the Atlantic interconnection of the HiWest corridor by 2030, but does include the Mediterranean interconnection. In this sense, it is requested that the Atlantic side of the corridor does not remain at the border of the Pyrenees and that it enters the peninsula from the west in 2030, as it will do from the east. In this way, the ring around the Pyrenees will be closed, thus strengthening the energy connection between the Atlantic and Mediterranean ports of France and Spain for the movement of hydrogen, and above all, there will be a double connection that would not leave the Iberian Peninsula isolated from Europe in the event of operational problems or the need for maintenance in one of the hydro-products.

OTHER AREAS OF COLLABORATION

In connection with climate change, it should be noted that coastal territories are more exposed to the effects of climate change, as the population, industrial and transport infrastructures are concentrated on the coast or in areas of tidal influence. In this sense, these territories are called upon to provide responses to alleviate vulnerabilities. For example, the solutions found by the industrialised port of Bilbao to protect its infrastructure may be valid for Gijón, Vigo or Santander and vice versa. Work could be done to develop a system to anticipate and respond to extreme weather events or to redesign urban planning in the most vulnerable coastal agglomerations, etc.

The oceans are the final destination of huge quantities of waste of different kinds, which accumulate and pose a serious threat to human health and marine ecosystems. They are also the cause of economic losses, particularly in the fisheries, aquaculture and tourism sectors. In 2021, the Atlantic Arc Commission created the “Ocean Pollution Task Force” to guide our respective policies to restore the health of the Atlantic. The Atlantic Arc partners have signed a Political Declaration “Commitment to a Clean Atlantic Ocean” and expressed their willingness to develop the sustainable blue economy and the circular economy to tackle ocean pollution in a holistic and cooperative approach.

In the field of Atlantic Smart Specialisation -RIS 3, the respective strategies contain common stakes and offer opportunities to connect innovation ecosystems and boost genuine Atlantic value chains: Health and Wellbeing; Agri-Food, Healthy and Safe Food; Renewable Energies; Maritime Technologies/Marine Resources; Tourism and ICT.